Too early for (regular outdoor, see below for irregular indoor) spring bulbs and much too early for spring leaves, but plenty to see just the same, including for example, clumps of coloured willow stems and sundry witch hazels. Not very keen on the latter, rather too feeble a plant for my taste, I like something a bit more vigorous, something which will do something in the poor brown clay of our own garden.
The usual mixed crop of outdoor sculpture, including one rather striking sculpture consisting of a heavy oval frame enclosing perhaps 50 pairs of small but otherwise matching pairs of oval mirrors, made or faced with a highly polished dark metal, something like the illustration. Suspended from A or otherwise mounted in such a way that they all shimmered & flickered in the the light breeze, in the cold winter light. A good idea and well-executed as a piece of metal work, but not quite right. The sturdy oval frame, maybe three feet across and standing on a sturdy post were far too sturdy for the delicacy of the mirrors. Perhaps this was was the test piece and the real thing, building on this experience or experiment (experience being the French for experiment), was in the garden of some neighbouring oligarch.
Pleased to see plenty of broad beans in the teaching garden adjoining the large glass house. Quite a lot of large and placid butterflies inside, placid to the point of a small girl being able to get one to perch on her finger. Few orchids on this occasion, but a lot of the cacti and succulents were in flower, making a fine display.
The second class restaurant was being made over (we hoped that the Wisley management would not sink so low as to participate in a television makeover programme) so we took lunch in the first class restaurant, pleasantly quiet (no music) and uncrowded although the sun meant that one had to be a bit careful where one sat. Good meal, in my case leek & potato soup, gnocchi and a tarte tatin. The soup was good, and they managed not to put too much milk/cream in it, a common failing, but contrariwise, the sauce in which the gnocchi came did have too much milk/cream in it. They do better at the Neapolitan Kitchen in Ewell Village. I had asked for the tarte tatin to be served without ice cream, but the thought of no trimming was clearly far too much for the kitchen, so they gave me a tastefully sculpted dollop of cream instead. At least it was to one side and could be left, the tarte being otherwise good, better than average in fact. White wine good. Service pleasant and attentive. The same gang, we were told, as have most of the franchise at the Royal Opera House.
Wound up the visit with a stroll to the two small alpine houses, where we found lots of interest and lots of flowers. The narcissii in particular were in very good form, small and delicate clumps in pots (for example, narcissus cantabricus cantabricus, var. kesticus), rather than large yellow jobs in the ground. Ask the Professor for narcissii generally and he comes up with lots of pictures of the latter sort, rather than the alpine sort, but including instead lots of snaps of chaps gazing at themselves in ponds. But ask for the specific variety and he does better. Last noticed here on 4th April 2013.
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